DefinePK

Abstract

ABSTRACT Respiratory diseases are emerging concerns of animals including camels which result in considerable loss in production, elevated mortalities and increased cost of treatment. K. pneumoniae is a substantial opportunistic pathogen that induces a wide spectrum of respiratory infections in human and animals. In the present study, a total of 116 nasal swabs and 89 lung tissue samples were collected from 33 apparently healthy and 83 respiratory ill camels. Samples were screened for the isolation of bacteria, and positive samples were subjected to classical and API 20 E biochemical-based characterization of Klebsiella pneumoniae. Additionally, obtained isolates were assessed for antibiotic susceptibility, the existence of antibiotic resistance genes (blaTEM and aadB) and virulence factors (magA, rmpA). Out of 205 examined samples, 15 isolates (7.31%) were culturally and biochemically confirmed as K. pneumonia. All isolates appeared to be resistant to amoxicillin, ampicillin and gentamycin, however, showed variable susceptible to levofloxacin, imipenem (100%), norfloxacin (93.3%) and ceftriaxon (73%). The application of uniplex PCR on the selected K. pneumoniae isolates revealed the detection of antibiotic resistance genes (blaTAM and aadB) in all isolates. The virulence genes including magA and rmpA were found in 40% and 0% of samples, respectively. In conclusion, the data highligh the existence multidrug resistant K. pneumoniae among Egyptian camels and may represent a theat to public health.